Means for handling beets



Sept. 30, 1941. H. F. SILVER MEANS FOR HANDLING BEETS Original FiledOct. 19, 1935 IN VENTOR. s/L VEI? HAROLD F.

mfg/1x09 ATT m Patented Sept. 30, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT-v OFFICEOctober 19, 1935. This 19, 1950, Serial No. 319,677

application February 2 Claims. (Cl. 259-2) This invention relates tocertain improvements in apparatus for handling sugar beets or the like,as originally disclosed in my pending application Serial No. 45,693,filed October 19, 1935, of which this present application is acontinuation.

The present invention relates particularly to improved apparatus forelevating sugar beets or; the like, for loading into a railway car orfor piling, and at the same time loosening dirt that may be adhering tothe beets.

There is a step in thehandling of sugar beets where they are elevatedeither for piling or for loading into a railway car, at which time it ishighly desirable to loosen andseparate dirt and trash from the beets.Dirt removed from the beets preferably is collected and weighed in orderto determine accurately the net weight of the beets that are beinghandled.-

A principal object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatusof this character, whereby sugar beets or the like maybe elevatedefliciently, and'at the same time rolled and tumbled upon themselves toloosen and to remove adhering dirt therefrom.

Another object is to provide in combination with such elevating anddirt-loosening apparatus, screening means whereby dirt loosened but notcompletely removed during the elevating stage, may be separated from thebeets in a subsequent step of the process.

Other objects and advantages reside in details of design andconstruction which will be more fully disclosed in the followingdescription and in the drawing wherein like parts have been similarlydesignated and in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view illustrating theoperating principles and vantageously according to these teachings. The

instant example herewith set forth should be considered as a typicalillustration that does not express or imply any limitation to the-scopea:

the invention, which, inreality, is measured by the appended claims.

Briefly stated, the improved apparatus includes means for feeding sugarbeets or the like through 5 a restricted opening to a conveyor of thebelt type that has an upwardly inclined portion in spaced relationshipwith a similarly inclined hugger belt. The feed of the beets to thisconveying and elevating apparatus is so restricted that the beets fedare less in volume than the full'volumetric capacity of the elevator.

As a consequence of this particular relationship, the beets as they areelevated between the conveyor belt and the hugger belt, roll and tum- Ibie upon themselves because the tendency is for them to fall and rollback to completely fill the space, between 'the conveyor and the'huggerbelt.

If the feed to the elevator was the same as its cross sectionalvolumetric capacity, then the heels would be held tightly between thetwo cooperating conveyor members and be continuously elevated as a masswithoutthe desirable rolling and tumbling action.

As a direct result of my arrangement, the beets are so rolled andtumbled uponthemselves and with reference to the conveying means thatdirt adhering to them is well loosened, some of it being entirelyremoved to be caught by the elevator and delivered to suitablecollection means. From the upper end of the elevator the beets aredischarged into screening means, which means are being disclosed andclaimed in my co-pending application of even date. Dirt remaining on thebeets at the time of their discharge into the screen element is muchmore readily separated in said screen element because it has beenloosened in the elevator.

Referring to the drawing, reference character 5 denotes a hopper havingan open bottom corresponding generally to the width of an endlessconveyor belt 8 which is reeved over suitable terminal rollers l and Iand guided and supported by a plurality of supporting idle rollers 9.This conveyor belt 6 passes horizontally under the hopper l' to receivebeets therefrom through the open bottom thereof. Thence it passes upover supporting rollers 9 to head roller 8, and back over idlers It tolower terminal roller 1.

An endless hugger belt I2 is slackly reeved over terminal rollers I3 andI4 and supported by a plurality of suitably spaced idle rollers IS. Therollers II, l4 and it are positioned with reference to supportingrollers 9 and head roller 8 of the conveyor element, in predeterminedperpendicular relationship thereto so that the conveyor belt 8 and thehugger belt i2 are in substantially constant predetermined perpendicularrelationship tc'each other during operation, when the space between thebelts is well filled with beets.

An opening i6 in the end wall of the hopper that is next adjacent theelevating portion of the apparatus, corresponds in width with theelevator belt 6 and is so limited inheightthat the volumetric movementof beets therethrough is less than'the full cross sectional volumetriccapacity of the elevator apparatus.

The top of the opening i6 may be above, in alinement with or below thelowermost portion of the hugger belt l2, the exact height of the opening I6 being determined by circumstances. Since beets do not flowreadily as fluid would, it is desirable under some circumstances to havethe top of the opening it about as illustrated in Figure 1, because thebeets themselves interfere with their own movement and the arrangementshown in Figure 1 restricts the how of beets to the elevator to a'volumethat is substantially less than the full handling capacity of the twoco-acting belts.

The operation of the apparatus illustrated is clearly understandable.Beets or the like as they come from the'field are dumped into the hopper5 and are movedtoward the upwardly inclined portion of the conveyor belt6 in a restricted volume through opening it in the end of the hopper 5.

Next the beets begin to travel upwardly along the inclined portion ofthe conveyor 6. .At the start of the elevating operation, the slack inthe hugger belt i2 permits it to sag along its lower side as indicatedby the dotted line Ha, so that it may come in substantial conformingcontact with portions of the conveyor belt and the first beets thatbegin to travel therealong.

Since the lower portion of the hugger belt i2 is not held in the slackposition indicated by the dotted line i211, the beets will begin to rolland tumble back upon themselves, crowding the 11118- ger belt upwardlyuntil it reaches its supporting idle rollers I5, which limit itsperpendicular movement away from the inclined portion of the conveyorbelt, whereupon the slack is transferred to the upper run of the belt,as illustrated in Figure 1.- The lower roller I3 is free to permit thistransference of the slack from oneside-to the other side of the huggerbelt I2.

Since the movement of. the beets into the elevating portion of theapparatus is restricted as hereinbefore set forth, the beets willcontinue to roll and tumble back upon themselves as they are elevatedbetween the two co-acting belts, constantly crowding the hugger belt I!away from the conveyor belt 6 and against the supporting rollers l5.

The volume oi beets that reaches the top of the elevator is, of course,equal to the volume being fed into the lower end of the elevator afterthe apparatus is in full operation.

From the top of the elevator, the bees are discharged into a screeningelement l1, hereinabove referred to. I

In actual practice, the hopper 5 preferably is made considerably longerin proportion than the hopper illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 2'illustrates certain specific details that have been purposelyomitted from Figure 1v in order to avoid confusing the general operatingprinciples involved in this inventive concept.

In Figure 2, cleats l8 are shown attached to thehugger belt I? and aresuitably spaced along the belt. These cleats are attached to sprocketchains 89 which drive the belt, the chains being driven by sprocketslocated adjacent the head roller M, but not shown.

Cleats it are positioned transversely across the conveyor belt 6 atspaced intervals, and are atv veying and elevating belt, means forlimiting the tached to another sprocket chain 28 which passes aroundsuitable driving sprockets located adjacent head roller 8, but notshown.

Dirt seals 22 are carried upon the conveyor belt 6 in a position tocooperate with the lower edges of chute-like side plates 23. The sideplates 23 and the seals 22 cooperate to form a substantially well closedconveyor chute that prevents lateral escape of the beets and dirtseparated therefrom.

Sprocket chains l9 and 2! that drive the two co-acting belts are drivenat substantially the same speed through the intermediary of suitablemechanism not hereinillustrated in detail, since such mechanism iswell-known to skilled mechanics. In that portion of the conveyor belt 6where it turns from its horizontal portion to its,

upwardly inclined portion, suitable guide rollers are to be positionedabove the chains H to hold the conveyor belt in a shape and positionsubstantially as illustrated in Figure 1.

Thus the stated objects of this invention are well fulfilled in thatsugar beets or the like are efliciently elevated and at the same timeare rolled and tumbled to loosen dirt and trash therefrom, thedirt andtrash being removed either during the elevation or in a subsequentscreening step, and collected for the purpose of weighing.

The invention is considered to be defined clearly and correctly in thefollowing claims. What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. Apparatus of the character disclosed comprising a conveying andelevating belt having a substantially horizontal portion and having anupwardly inclined portion, a slack upwardly inclined hugger beltpositioned to cooperate with the upwardly inclined portion of saidconveying and elevating belt, an open-bottom hopper positionedimmediately above the. horizontal portion of said conveying andelevating belt, and means for feeding sugar beets or the like from saidhopper to the upwardly inclined portion of the conveying and elevatingbelt inclusive of means for restricting such feed to less than theelevating caslack hugger belt positioned to cooperate with the upwardlyinclined elevating portion of said conmovement of said slack hugger beltperpendicularly away from the inclined portion or said conveying andelevating belt, an open-bottom hopper positioned above and adjacent tothe horizontal portion of said conveying and elevating belt, and meansfor feeding sugar beets or the like from said hopper to said cooperativeelevating belts at a rate which is less than the elevating capacity ofsaid belts.

HAROLD F. SILVER.

